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School: Novgorod
School: Novgorod
Introduction
Introduction
The iconography of The Birth of Christ is one of the most famous and widespread iconographies of early Russian Orthodoxy. As tradition dictates, the wooden panel was painted using the tempera painting technique and dates from around 1475. The work originates from an ancient stone church dedicated to St. Nicholas, located in the village of Gostinopol'e which was part of an ancient monastery near Novgorod, a city in north-west Russia, which was very old and important due to its strategic location and lively trade. Initially, the work was included in the level of the iconostasis, i.e. the wall made entirely of iconographies that, inside Orthodox sanctuaries, separates the aisles for the faithful from the apse where the altar is located. The iconostasis is usually composed of several superimposed levels of icons, each with its own theme. The second, starting at the bottom, is the feast register. In Gostinopol'e's iconostasis, the feast registry was intended to be accompanied by the prophets' registry with the same number of icons and positioned in the section below. The artists who painted the iconographies of the two registers, therefore, paired the depictions so that on each individual section a feast was painted in the lower part and the prophet in the upper part. The iconography is based on texts from the Gospels and apocryphal sources, i.e. texts not recognised by the official Church, but very interesting for the artists, who needed alternative elements to enrich the scenes to be depicted.
The work is located at the Gallerie d'Italia - Vicenza.
The iconography of The Birth of Christ is one of the most famous and widespread iconographies of early Russian Orthodoxy. As tradition dictates, the wooden panel was painted using the tempera painting technique and dates from around 1475. The work originates from an ancient stone church dedicated to St. Nicholas, located in the village of Gostinopol'e which was part of an ancient monastery near Novgorod, a city in north-west Russia, which was very old and important due to its strategic location and lively trade. Initially, the work was included in the level of the iconostasis, i.e. the wall made entirely of iconographies that, inside Orthodox sanctuaries, separates the aisles for the faithful from the apse where the altar is located. The iconostasis is usually composed of several superimposed levels of icons, each with its own theme. The second, starting at the bottom, is the feast register. In Gostinopol'e's iconostasis, the feast registry was intended to be accompanied by the prophets' registry with the same number of icons and positioned in the section below. The artists who painted the iconographies of the two registers, therefore, paired the depictions so that on each individual section a feast was painted in the lower part and the prophet in the upper part. The iconography is based on texts from the Gospels and apocryphal sources, i.e. texts not recognised by the official Church, but very interesting for the artists, who needed alternative elements to enrich the scenes to be depicted.
The work is located at the Gallerie d'Italia - Vicenza.